News

SAN DIEGO — A skin cancer testing company formerly known as DermTech Inc., which was headquartered in San Diego, has agreed to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims for unreliable skin cancer tests to the Medicare program. DermTech is now liquidating as DTech Liquidating Inc. after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of Delaware in June 2024. As part of the resolution announced today, the United States received an Allowed Class Three General Unsecured Claim of $5,038,011 in the bankruptcy proceeding.

SAN DIEGO — The Justice Department and FBI announced court-authorized domain seizures today to deny malicious cyber actors access to two complementary hacking platforms known as “QScan” and “QTRouter,” used to target U.S. critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks.

SAN DIEGO – Georgina Bribiesca Chavez of Tijuana, Mexico, appeared in federal court today to face a wildlife trafficking charge after she allegedly participated in a years-long scheme to smuggle exotic reptiles into and out of the United States. Chavez’s alleged wildlife trafficking partner, Salvador Pelayo of Chula Vista, was arrested in July and faces a similar federal charge for trafficking exotic wildlife.

SAN DIEGO – Five alleged members and associates of the “El Cajon Locos” criminal street gang have been indicted on federal racketeering charges in connection with drug and firearms trafficking and violent crimes. A sixth defendant has been charged with witness tampering and witness harassment. The defendants are charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which makes it a federal crime to participate in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity, including drug trafficking, firearms offenses and violent crimes. All defendants are in custody.

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 116 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing

SAN DIEGO – Tyler Muehl, an 18-year-old from La Jolla who appeared in a viral video repeatedly kicking at a California sea lion in La Jolla Cove, pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act’s prohibition on harassment of wildlife. “Federal crime. Federal consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

SAN DIEGO – Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Jesse Clark Garcia was sentenced in federal court today to nine years in prison for allowing drug-laden vehicles to pass through his inspection lane at the Tecate Port of Entry on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. The sentencing follows a long‑term, multi‑agency investigation that uncovered a significant corruption scheme involving Garcia and his co-defendant, then-Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer Diego Bonillo. Both officers pleaded guilty in July 2025, with Garcia admitting that since at least 2021, he provided the Sinaloa

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 107 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 115 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing

SAN DIEGO— Marcos Arturo Kleiman Tronllan, chief executive officer of MoneyFlip LLC, a registered Money Services Business (MSB) offering cross-border currency exchange services, was arrested in Miami this morning in connection with a federal complaint filed in San Diego alleging that Kleiman hired a hitman to murder someone over an unpaid debt. Kleiman, a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States who previously worked and lived in San Diego, was taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations agents and Homeland Security Task Force partners.

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Matthew Ray Calas of Spring Valley with distributing a powerful synthetic opioid—N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene—that resulted in the death of a 67-year-old San Diego resident. According to court records, Calas advertised drugs for sale on Craigslist using coded language. In text messages with the victim, Calas offered to sell the victim “red devil nitazene,” a smokeable crystal powder. The victim was found on the floor holding drug paraphernalia, suggesting he died shortly after ingesting the substance. Three months later

CALEXICO – Federal law enforcement officers seized more than half a ton of cocaine worth more than $20 million hidden in the floorboards of a commercial truck and attached flatbed trailer at the Calexico Port of Entry. It was the second-largest cocaine seizure in 2026 in the Southern District of California. The largest seizure was in May when more than a ton of cocaine estimated to be worth $45 million was discovered in connection with a subterranean cross-border tunnel.